Transport system for a center pivot agricultural machine

ABSTRACT

An agricultural mower including a chassis, a pivotal tongue coupled to the chassis and a transport arrangement coupled to the chassis. The transport arrangement has a first suspension element pivotal about a first axis and a second suspension element pivotal about a second axis. The second suspension element additionally being pivotal about the first axis.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/265,917, entitled “Transport System for a Center Pivot AgriculturalMachine” and filed Apr. 30, 2014, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The subject disclosure relates to transport arrangements foragricultural machines, and, more particularly, relates to an arrangementfor the machine, such as an agricultural mower, to enable the machine tobe transported in less than its operating width.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Agricultural mowers and mower/conditioners, hereinafter referred tosimply as mowers, are well known and include self-propelled andpull-behind types. A problem with pull-behind mowers involves thetransporting of the machines between fields, since the width of themachine may exceed practical or regulatory limits. Machine movement maybe necessary over farm lanes, through gates or on highways where themachine width will not allow passage in the operating orientation.

A typically solution is to place the mower-conditioner header mechanismon a separate trailer such that the lateral width of the mechanism isgenerally aligned with the length of the trailer (lateral transport) andthen tow the trailer with the tractor. One such example is the Discbine™Transporter (by common assignee) which is specifically configured forloading, unloading, and laterally transporting a Model 1441/1442 discmower conditioner while attached to the operating power unit (tractor).Such special trailers add significant cost, requires significant skillto load and unload, and must be used to transport the machine betweenlocations or separately transported.

It would be advantageous to provide a reconfigurable transportarrangement for supporting a pull-behind mower header to be laterallytransported while attached to a tractor without requiring an additionalimplement or special trailer. Further advantages would be realized by alateral transport system that is quickly and easily operated therebyreducing the time necessary to reconfigure the implement betweenoperating and lateral transport configurations. Still further advantageswould be realized by a lateral transport system that can be producedwith less cost that the separate trailer lateral transport option itreplaces.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosed examples. This summary isnot an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key orcritical elements nor delineate the scope of such aspects. Its purposeis to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

The subject disclosure provides a reconfigurable transport arrangementfor supporting a mower allowing lateral transportation of the mowerwhile attached to a tractor without requiring an additional implement orspecial trailer.

The disclosure in one form is directed to a transport arrangement for anagricultural machine having a chassis and a field suspension system. Thetransport arrangement includes a first suspension element being pivotalabout a first axis, and a second suspension element being pivotal abouta second axis. The second suspension element additionally being pivotalabout the first axis.

The disclosure in another form is directed to an agricultural mowerincluding a chassis, a pivotal tongue coupled to the chassis and atransport arrangement coupled to the chassis. The transport arrangementhas a first suspension element pivotal about a first axis and a secondsuspension element pivotal about a second axis. The second suspensionelement additionally being pivotal about the first axis.

An advantage of the subject disclosure is that the lateral transportmode is accomplished without a separate implement or trailer.

Another advantage is that the transport mode is achieved using hydrauliccontrols available on the tractor.

Yet another advantage is that the transport system is stowed on the backportion of the mower.

Yet another advantage is that the legs of the transport system are ofdiffering lengths to enhance stability of the mower in the transportmode.

A further advantage is that the transport suspension is above thedischarge zone of the mower and does not interfere with the flow of thecrop material.

A still further advantage is that the transport arrangement doesn'tnegatively effect the balance of the mower.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, one or moreexamples comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspectsand are indicative of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the various aspects may be employed. Other advantages andnovel features will become apparent from the following detaileddescription when considered in conjunction with the drawings and thedisclosed examples are intended to include all such aspects and theirequivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of thisdisclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand the disclosure will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of an embodiment of the disclosure taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural machine in the form of amower including an embodiment of a transport arrangement of the presentapplication in the stowed position;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the mower with the transport arrangement shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mower shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, withthe tongue shifted to a field use position;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-3,illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application beingdeployed;

FIG. 5 is yet another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-4,illustrating the transport arrangement of the present application beingfurther deployed lifting the chassis of the mower;

FIG. 6 is yet another perspective view of the mower of FIGS. 1-5,illustrating the tongue of the mower being pivoted to a transportposition;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the mower of FIGS. 1-6, illustrating thetransport arrangement of the present application being deployed fortransporting the mower, from the perspective of the operator in atractor; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of the mower of FIGS. 1-7, illustrating thetransport arrangement of the present application being fully deployedhaving lifted the chassis of the mower.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplification set out hereinillustrates an embodiment of the subject disclosure, and suchexemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of thesubject disclosure in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown a perspective view of an agricultural machine in the form of amower 10, which can be attached to a tractor (not shown). Mower 10generally includes a pair of wheels 11A and 11B and a chassis 12, whichcarries a number of other components such as crop engaging blades 14,and drive components 16. A tongue 18 is pivotally connected to chassis12, an end of which can be connected to the tractor. A field suspensionsystem 20 supports mower 10 while mower 10 is in a field mode. Mower 10additionally includes a transport arrangement 22, which, when deployed,provides the support for the transport of mower 10. Crop engaging blades14 can be disc cutter blades 14 or a sickle bar, or another crop cuttingdevice.

Now, additionally referring to FIGS. 2-8, transport arrangement 22includes suspension elements 24 and 26, which respectively have wheels28 and 30 connected to corresponding ends of suspension elements 24 and26. Suspension elements 24 and 26 are rotatable about an axis 32, whensuspension element 26 is in the position shown in FIGS. 4-8.Additionally, suspension element 26 is rotatable about an axis 34 as ittransitions from a stowed position illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 to theposition shown in FIG. 4. Axis 32 is generally perpendicular to axis 34.

When suspension element 26 is in the stowed position it is generallyabove, or at least vertically elevated above, suspension element 24.Additionally, suspension element 26 is somewhat shorter than suspensionelement 24, as can be particularly seen in FIG. 2, where it can also beseen that suspension element 26 is positioned such that wheel 30 isbehind wheel 28 when transport arrangement 22 is in a stowed position.

A sequence of movements of the elements of mower 10 will now bediscussed with references to the various figures. FIGS. 1 and 2illustrate transport arrangement 22 in a stowed position and tongue 18is angularly positioned in a substantially forward direction 36. This isa configuration in which mower 10 can be used, but generally mower 10will be used with tongue 18 located to either side, such as that shownin FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a predetermined position for tongue 18 tobe located to allow the needed clearance for suspension element 26 to berotated about axis 34 by a primary lateral transport cylinder 25, asshown fully deployed, in FIG. 4. Initially the field wheels 11A and 11Bassociated with field suspension system 20 are fully extended by liftcylinders 13A and 13B, respectively, to lift chassis 12.

Once transport arrangement 22 is positioned as shown in FIG. 4, thenboth suspension elements 24 and 26 are rotated about axis 32 by asecondary lateral transport cylinder 27 causing wheels 28 and 30 tocontact the ground thereby lifting chassis 12 so that field suspensionsystem 20 is lifted off of the ground. Field suspension system 20 can becoordinated to also lift its wheels 11A and 11B while or after wheels 28and 30 contact the ground. A result of this step is that transportarrangement 22 is fully deployed as seen in FIG. 5 and is in thetransport position.

The next step is that tongue 18 is now swung by a cylinder 29 to atransport position as shown in FIG. 6. This step has to wait on the fulldeployment of transport arrangement 22 to prevent mower 10 from tippingto one side. The wheels 11A and 11B of field suspension system 20 areraised to provide ground clearance by the retraction of the liftcylinders 13A and 13B associated with field suspension system 20 (as canbe seen in FIGS. 7 and 8). FIGS. 7 and 8 show mower 10 in the transportmode respectively from the operator viewpoint and the right hand side ofmower 10.

The steps needed to configure mower 10 for field use are the reverse ofthose just discussed in order to transition from the transport positionto the stowed position of transport arrangement 22. The position oftongue 18 in the transport mode is at a small angle to the tracking ofmower 10, as seen in FIG. 7, so as to position the hitch in the desiredlocation for connection with the tractor.

Transport arrangement 22 is coupled to chassis 12 and more particularlyto trail frame 38, which is part of chassis 12. The coupling oftransport arrangement 22 is offset to the side of the centerline ofmower 10. The folding mechanism of transport arrangement 22 is providedto allow at least portions of transport arrangement 22 to be stowedabove and to the rear of the trail frame 38 during field operations.Upon placing the center pivot disc mower conditioner 10 (CPDMC) in thefull field left position, the mechanism of transport arrangement 22rotates about a pivot axis 34 that is parallel to or substantiallyparallel to the trail frame 38 (or the axis of the field wheels). Thisaction can deploy the left hand (as in transport position) wheel 30 to aposition ahead of the header (ahead as in the field position) whilestill located above the trail frame 38. When this rotation has beencompleted, a secondary rotation takes place about axis 32; this actionis a pivoting action which is above and perpendicular to the trail frame38 and the field wheel axis. This action rotates wheels 28 and 30 fromtheir position above trail frame 38 to a position below trail frame 38and in contact with the ground.

When this action is complete, the trail frame/header is then rotated toa position essentially in-line with tongue 18, thus allowing a narrowtransport for public roads. The steps to transition from field operationto lateral transport operation are thus: 1. Fully lift chassis 12 to thenon-mowing position by extending the field wheels 11A, 11B of fieldsuspension system 20 by the lift cylinders 13A, 13B; 2. Rotate chassis12 to the full field left position; 3. Extend the primary lateraltransport cylinder 25 to rotate suspension element 26 along with wheel30 from a position above and behind the trail frame 38 to a positionabove and ahead of the trail frame 38; 4. Extend the secondary lateraltransport cylinder 27 to rotate suspension elements 24 and 26 withwheels 28 and 30 down below the trail frame 38, with wheel 28 beingbehind the header/trail frame 38 and wheel 30 being in front of theheader/trail frame 38; 5. Initiate the system to complete the rotationof chassis 12 to the full lateral transport position and retract thelift cylinders 13A, 13B to raise the field wheels 11A, 11B. The steps totransition from lateral transport to field operation are then to reversethe actions starting with step 5 and working backward to step 1.

The subject disclosure includes the action of rotating the left handtransport wheel 30 from a position above and behind the trail frame 38to a position ahead of the trail frame 38 and the header about an axisgenerally parallel to the trail frame 38 and the field wheel axis. Thereis also the subsequent action (or precedent action depending on whichway the transition is proceeding) of rotating the transport wheels 28and 30 from a position above the header/trail frame 38 to a positionbelow the header/trail frame 38, where the left hand transport wheel 30is ahead of the header with the right hand transport wheel 28 to therear of the header (in field position) and about an axis 32perpendicular to the trail frame 38 field wheel axis. The system stowsthe transport wheels 28 and 30 above and behind the trail frame 38 whilehaving the ability to rotate the transport wheel 30 to a position aheadof the header. Any system can be used to actuate the lateral transportrotations, with hydraulic cylinders being assumed, but the actions canbe accomplished with any arrangement of cylinders, actuators, linearmotors, rotational motors, to name a few.

Advantages of the subject disclosure include the providing of integratedlateral transport while allowing full rotation of the header for allfield conditions with the transport wheels 28 and 30 stowed above andbehind the trail frame 38. The stowed position keeps the transportwheels 28 and 30 completely out of the incoming crop stream, as well ascompletely out of the crop stream exiting from the conditioner. Further,this system allows for the CPDMC to be balanced during both field andlateral transport operation.

While this disclosure has been described with respect to at least oneembodiment, the subject disclosure can be further modified within thespirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is thereforeintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosureusing its general principles. Further, this application is intended tocover such departures from the subject disclosure as come within knownor customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains andwhich fall within the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transport arrangement for an agriculturalmachine having a chassis, a pivotal tongue and a field suspensionsystem, the transport arrangement comprising: a first suspension elementcoupled to the chassis; a first ground engaging wheel coupled to an endof the first suspension element, the first suspension element beingpivotal about a first axis, the first ground engaging wheel beingmovable about the first axis into and away from contact with the ground;a second suspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the firstsuspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engagingwheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the secondsuspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis, thesecond ground engaging wheel being movable about the first axis into andaway from contact with the ground, the chassis being pivotal relative tothe pivotal tongue after the first ground engaging wheel and the secondground engaging wheel are in contact with the ground.
 2. The transportarrangement of claim 1, wherein contact with the ground by the first andsecond ground engaging wheels corresponds to a transport mode ofoperation, and wherein non-contact with the ground by the first andsecond ground engaging wheels corresponds to a field work mode ofoperation.
 3. The transport arrangement of claim 2, wherein in the fieldwork mode of operation, the first suspension element is proximate to thesecond suspension element, and wherein the second suspension element ispivotal about the second axis to be proximate to the first suspensionelement.
 4. The transport arrangement of claim 3, wherein the secondsuspension element is generally above the first suspension element inthe field work mode of operation.
 5. The transport arrangement of claim1, wherein the first axis and the second axis are generallyperpendicular to each other.
 6. The transport arrangement of claim 1,wherein the first suspension element is longer than the secondsuspension element.
 7. The transport arrangement of claim 1, wherein thefirst suspension element is pivotally coupled to the chassis about thefirst axis.
 8. The transport arrangement of claim 7, wherein the secondsuspension element is pivotal with the first suspension element aboutthe first axis.
 9. An agricultural mower, comprising: a chassis; apivotal tongue pivotally coupled to the chassis about a generallyvertical axis; and a transport arrangement coupled to the chassis, thetransport arrangement comprising: a first suspension element coupled tothe chassis; a first ground engaging wheel coupled to an end of thefirst suspension element, the first suspension element being pivotalabout a first axis, the first ground engaging wheel being movable intoand away from contact with the ground about the first axis; a secondsuspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the firstsuspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engagingwheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the secondsuspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis thesecond ground engaging wheel being movable into and away from contactwith the ground about the first axis, the chassis being pivoted relativeto the pivotal tongue after the first ground engaging wheel and thesecond ground engaging wheel are moved into contact with the ground. 10.The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein contact with the ground bythe first and second ground engaging wheels corresponds to a transportmode of operation of the agricultural mower, and wherein non-contactwith the ground by the first and second ground engaging wheelscorresponds to a field work mode of operation of the agricultural mower.11. The agricultural mower of claim 10, wherein the chassis issubstantially carried by the transport arrangement when in the transportposition.
 12. The agricultural mower of claim 10, wherein the pivotingtongue is pivotal to a predetermined position when the transportarrangement transitions from the field work mode of operation to thetransport mode of operation and from the transport mode of operation tothe field work mode of operation.
 13. The agricultural mower of claim 9,wherein the first suspension element is longer than the secondsuspension element.
 14. The agricultural mower of claim 9, wherein inthe field work mode of operation, the first suspension element isproximate to the second suspension element, and both the firstsuspension element and the second suspension element are proximate toone side of the agricultural mower.
 15. The agricultural mower of claim14, wherein the one side of the agricultural mower is a rear side of theagricultural mower.
 16. The agricultural mower of claim 14, wherein thesecond suspension element is generally above the first suspensionelement in the field work mode of operation.
 17. The agricultural mowerof claim 9, wherein the first axis and the second axis are generallyperpendicular to each other.
 18. An agricultural mower, comprising: aframe; a chassis coupled to the frame, the chassis comprising at leastone crop engaging blade mounted thereto; a field suspension systemcoupled to the frame; a pivotal tongue pivotally coupled to the frameabout a generally vertical axis; and a transport arrangement coupled tothe frame, the transport arrangement including: a first suspensionelement coupled to the frame; a first ground engaging wheel coupled toan end of the first suspension element, the first suspension elementbeing pivotal about a first axis, the first ground engaging wheel beingmovable into and away from contact with the ground about the first axis;a second suspension element coupled to and pivotal relative to the firstsuspension element about a second axis; and a second ground engagingwheel coupled to an end of the second suspension element, the secondsuspension element being additionally pivotal about the first axis, thesecond ground engaging wheel being movable into and away from contactwith the ground about the first axis, the frame being pivotal about thegenerally vertical axis after the first ground engaging wheel and thesecond ground engaging wheel come into contact with the ground.
 19. Theagricultural mower of claim 18, wherein in a field work mode ofoperation, the first suspension element is proximate to the secondsuspension element, and both the first suspension element and the secondsuspension element are proximate to one side of the agricultural mower.20. The agricultural mower of claim 19, wherein the second suspensionelement is generally above the first suspension element in the fieldwork mode of operation.
 21. The agricultural mower of claim 18, whereinone side of the agricultural mower is a rear side of the agriculturalmower.
 22. The agricultural mower of claim 18, wherein the fieldsuspension system comprises: a first field wheel coupled to the frameand to the chassis, The first field wheel supporting the chassis duringa field work mode of operation; and a first lift cylinder coupled to thefirst field wheel, the first lift cylinder raising the first field wheelwhile the first and second ground engaging wheels are in contact withthe ground thereby placing the agricultural mower in a transportationmode of operation.
 23. The agricultural mower of claim 22, wherein thefield suspension system further comprises: a second field wheel coupledto the frame and to the chassis, the second field wheel supporting thechassis during the field work mode of operation; and a second liftcylinder coupled to the second field wheel, the second lift cylinderraising the second field wheel while the first and second groundengaging wheels are in contact with the ground thereby placing theagricultural mower in the transportation mode of operation.